Nature & Environment

Mysterious blobs of 'blue goo' on ocean floor stump scientists

By T.K. Randall
September 20, 2022 ·  8 comments



What exactly is this thing ? Image Credit: NOAA Over the last few years the ship and its crew have filmed and photographed all manner of weird and wonderful things in the depths of the ocean, but this latest find is perhaps one of the strangest things they've found to date.

Discovered using the vessel's remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in the area of ocean surrounding St. Croix (one of US Virgin Islands), these strange aquatic organisms appear as motionless blue blobs of goo on the ocean floor.

The crew had been live-streaming their exploration of the region as part of their "Voyage to the Ridge 2022" expedition when they spotted the blobs and quickly decided to zoom in for a closer look.It soon became apparent, however, that they hadn't seen anything quite like them before.

While some of the scientists suggested that they might be some sort of soft coral or sponge, the team was ultimately unable to agree on an explanation.

"We're still not sure - and we all really like a good mystery," one of the team members could be heard saying.

You can check out the footage of the find for yourself below.


Source: Live Science | Comments (8)

Tags: Deep Sea, Okeanos